WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Maryland police were investigating Monday whether the suspected Washington-area snipers were responsible for two more shootings in September that wounded two people about 10 miles from the nation's capital.
In the first shooting, Paul LaRuffa was shot six times and robbed shortly after closing his restaurant on Sept. 5. He was rushed to a nearby hospital and has since recovered. On Sept. 15, a man was shot in the abdomen and held up outside a liquor store in Clinton, Md. The victim, who police decline to identify, survived the incident.
Prince George's County Police said Monday that they were investigating whether the two shootings were related to the recent sniper attacks in the Washington area. John Lee Malvo and John Allen Muhammad already face murder charges in Maryland, Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana, and the District of Columbia.
In the Sept. 5 shooting, 55-year-old LaRuffa had just closed the Margellina's Pizzeria in Clinton, Md. when he was gunned down. The suspect or suspects hit LaRuffa six times, through the driver side window. His laptop was stolen from the backseat, as well as over $3000 in receipts.
When Muhammad and Malvo were taken into custody on Oct. 24, police found a laptop in their possession. LaRuffa, reached at his home, said police had not told him whether or not the computer found in the snipers' car was his.
"They know whether it's mine or not," he said. "Why they're not telling me is a mystery to me."
The later shooting, on Sept. 15, wounded a man outside Brandywine Liquors in Clinton. The employee was closing the store when a suspect shot him once in the stomach, then stole his wallet and fled.
Maryland police, as well as other members of the sniper task force, are examining evidence recovered from both of the scenes to determine whether the cases are linked, according to police.
